New integrated health college

Now the group wants to hear from doctors, other clinicians, and registered complementary therapy practitioners about what support they need.

The college’s role will include:

•  Promoting and signposting high quality education in integrated health wherever it is provided
• Working in partnership with the Royal Colleges and established complementary professional organisations to develop and provide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in integrated health.
• Developing a quality kite mark that will help patients to identify good integrated practice.

Members of the steering group include Professor Ruth Chambers, Dr Michael Dixon, Simon Fielding, Professor Stephen Holgate, Professor George Lewith, Michael MacIntyre, Professor David Peters, Professor Jane Plant and Dr Catherine Zollman. They invite those interested in the creation of the college to contact the group at: contactus@fih.org.uk   Marking the subject line ‘college’ would be helpful.

The Foundation’s Medical Director Dr Michael Dixon said:

'Many universities are already doing extremely good work on integrated health. But there is an obvious need to provide a focus for information, develop more opportunities for continuing professional education and provide a much needed resource for patients.

'With such a distinguished group of clinicians leading the college, and advice from practitioners about their needs, we expect the college to be a reality early in 2010'.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.     Media enquiries to Pat Goodall, 01246 410707 or pat.goodall@fih.org.uk

2.     All other enquiries to contactus@fih.org.uk or call 020 7024 5755.

3.     The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1993. Its principal aim is to make sure that all patients can access good integrated healthcare. That means treating patients as whole human beings – paying attention to body, mind and soul. It may include access to proven complementary therapies, but the Foundation does not suggest that is necessarily the best course of action for all conditions and all patients. More information about the Foundation can be found at www.fih.org.uk

4.     All Steering Group members are Fellows of the Foundation for Integrated Health. They are:

Professor Ruth Chambers is a director of Naturally Healthy; national education lead for the NHS Alliance, a part-time GP partner in North Staffordshire, and Honorary Professor of Health Development at Staffordshire University. She  has recently been working with the Royal College of GPs to establish the Essential Knowledge Update as a component of doctors’ re-certification; she also works with the Department of Health to focus on clinical governance in respect of the re-validation of practitioners.

Dr Michael Dixon has been a GP in Devon for more than 20 years. He is Chairman of the NHS Alliance; currently Practice Based Commissioning lead on Lord Darzi's Primary Care Strategy Board and is chair of the National Life Check Board. He sits on a number of government committees. He is also Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster, Integrated School of Health and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Integrated Health at the Peninsula Medical School.

Simon Fielding originally trained as an osteopath and was the principal architect of the Osteopaths Act 1993. He was the first chairman of the General Osteopathic Council and has been the Department of Health's special adviser on complementary medicine since 1993. He is also a trustee of Demelza House Children's Hospice.

Professor Stephen Holgate is MRC clinical professor of immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton. He is a member of several government committees, and a past member of the NHS Central Research & Development Committee. He was an adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology enquiry into complementary and alternative medicine 2000 - 2001 He is currently a member of The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, Chairman of The Science Council's Science in Health Group and Chairman of the Medical Research Council's Physiological Systems and Clinical Sciences Board.

Professor George Lewith is Professor of Health Research in the Complementary Medicine Research Unit, University of Southampton, UK. He  leads an international CAM research group within the University, currently comprising four postdoctoral fellows and five current PhD students. He has raised over £4 million in research funds in the last 10 years and has published over 100 peer reviewed articles since 2001.

Michael McIntyre is a herbalist trained in western herbalism, traditional Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture. Formerly president of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, he currently chairs the European Herbal and Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association.

Professor David Peters is a leading innovator in the field of holistic healthcare and the integration of complementary therapies into mainstream medical practice. He is one of the founding faculty of the University of Westminster’s School of Integrated Health, where he is Professor of Integrated Healthcare and Clinical Director. A former GP, he is also a fully qualified homeopathic and osteopathic practitioner and musculoskeletal physician. Prof Peters chairs the British Holistic Medical Association and is Editor of its Journal of Holistic Healthcare.

Professor Jane Plant is Anglo American Professor of Geochemistry at Imperial College, London. She  presently chairs the Government's Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances and is a member of the Chemical Stakeholder Forum. She is vice president of the All Party Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. Until 2005 she was Chief Scientist of the British Geological Survey and has published widely on links between human health and chemicals in the environment.

Dr Catherine Zollman currently works part-time as a GP in an urban practice in south-east Bristol, where she tries to take a holistic perspective on the varied cases she treats. She uses primary care level homeopathy, acupuncture and relaxation skills training. She also maintains an active interest in the field of oncology and works part–time as an Integrative Medicine Specialist at Penny Brohn Cancer Care (formerly the Bristol Cancer Help Centre). From 1996-1999 she was Medical Director of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine. She co-authored a series of articles on Complementary Medicine in the British Medical Journal, later published as a book, the ABC of Complementary Medicine.